Joan of Arc French Heroine Knight National Hero Fotoplatte

This WW2 WPA artwork depicts French Martyr Saint Joan of Arc. Acting under divine guidance at age 18 Joan of Arc led the French army to victory over the English at Orléans, during the Hundred Years War. A year later Joan was captured and burned at the stake as a heretic by the English and their French collaborators. Jeanne d’Arc became the greatest national heroine of her compatriots and was canonized as a Roman Catholic saint more than 500 years later, on May 16, 1920. The Maid of Orleans "La Pucelle d’Orléans" was a poem about Joan of Arc. Recently she has become a symbol of feminism "girl power," as a positive female role model in the women empowerment movement. Text on WPA image says patriotic words "Joan of Arc Saved France, Women of America Save Your Country". It was designed to motivate women to do labor jobs for America while men were fighting in war.